My partner is a good four inches shorter than I am, but is nonetheless a fantastic leader. When he leads me into turns, both free-standing and not, the height difference has a tendency to throw me off-balance. Anyone have any advice for how to stay balanced and not end up flailing around so much? Thanks.

As far as free spins goes, your height difference shouldn't be much of a problem. As long as he remembers to lead you into a free spin through the center of your body(i.e. your hips), you should have no problem following it. Now, turning while retaining a hand hold. I recently heard a coach say this to me and it made a lot of sense. Tell your partner to think about leading your shoulder into turns as opposed to your arm. Likewise even at 4 inches your hand for any underarm turn should not be much more than about an inch above your eye level. Your hand should be raised just enough to let your shoulder to elbow be parallel to the floor. Just a few points of advise that i've heard and thought i pass on

FanBlade2:

Thanks for the tips. I've subconscuosly do all of that . . . however, I used to concentrate on keeping my hand steady by watching it and the follower as she came around.

We have a dance floor in our house, and last night I tried your "think about leading her shoulder into turns as opposed to my arm."

I didn't tell my wife what I was doing, just told her I wanted to try something I had been thinking of. She immediately felt the difference. Then I explained what the change was . . . we like it!

Thanks again . . .

stay centered spot, spot, spot,
head up and sholders down, and make sure the foot your turning on is the same one that is going back.
sign
Bob Powers.

Tea-

My partner is somewhat shorter than I am in heels...about 2". So I can appreciate the difficulties that this may lead to, especially in smooth and modern!

There are a huge number of reasons why you may be off balance in your turns that are not related to your height difference. Vince's last comment especially seems to indicate that he may be "stirring the pot" or in other words, forcing you to turn. Also watch out for shorter men as they sometimes have a tendency to bring the arm down too quickly (before you have completed your rotation) which not only compromises your balance but also puts your shoulder in an uncomfortable position.

You can of course always turn under your arm. Most women think that they need more roomto turn than they really do. If your own hand is higher than the top of your head then you can obviously turn under it just fine. Even 1/4 of an inch is enough. Actually, keeping the arms as low as is practical will help with your connection and your ability to move quickly into the next pattern.

Finally...I might ask what discipline of dance you take? I have found that some American style coaches teach Underarm turns quite differently than International style pros. My partner and I have found that the Int. style works much better and is more comfortable for both of us.

M

I was leading someone in a hustle one night - I'm 5'3", she's about 5'10". We started having problems when I tried to spin her. Someone told me of this great technique for height differences, and I shared it with her.

The taller person can "overextend" their hand over their head, so that the back of the hand is curved over the head. Not only have I seen fellow students do this, but instructors as well.

Regards,